Chapter Pratiques du troc, industries et stratégies individuelles (Lodévois et Vallespir, XVe siècle-vers 1550)

Overview & Synopsis

In the southern industrial districts of Vallespir (Roussillon) and Lodévois (Languedoc), exchanges in kind (in goods and services) are common practice, some of which has been recorded by notaries. Based on a corpus of 425 notarial deeds, it is possible to examine the legal conditions of 'barter', the categories of goods exchanged (all of which are manufactured locally) and their market prices. In both districts, payments in kind are part of everyday exchanges: people exchange what they have in order to obtain a product they need. Merchants and drapers also barter, for wollen cloth and iron, which are exported to international markets. In this case, barter is a way to obtain products making a profit and controlling the workforce. Thus, regardless of their social or professional identity, economic players take part in barter and make payment in kind out of a choice between necessity and profit.